The residents of the City having the qualifications of electors
in the State of Michigan shall be electors of the City.
A.
The election of all City officers shall be on a nonpartisan basis.
The general election statutes shall apply to and control, as near
as may be, all procedures relating to registration and City elections,
except as such statutes relate to political parties or partisan procedure
and except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
B.
The Clerk shall give public notice of the time and place of holding
each City election and of the officers to be elected and the questions
to be voted upon in the same manner as is required by statute for
the giving of public notice of general elections in the state.
C.
The polls at all elections shall be opened and closed at the time
prescribed by law for the opening and closing of polls at state elections.
The City of Rockwood shall consist of one ward. The precincts
into which the City is divided on the effective date of this Charter
shall remain the precincts of the City until changed pursuant to this
Charter. The Council shall, from time to time, establish convenient
election precincts.
A regular City election shall be held on the first Tuesday after
the first Monday in November, 1990, and in each even-numbered year
thereafter coinciding with state elections.
A.
The elective officers of the City shall be a Mayor and six Councilmen,
one Clerk and one Treasurer, all of whom shall be nominated and elected
from the City at large.
B.
At each regular City election, there shall be elected a Mayor, a
Clerk and a Treasurer for a term of office of two years, three Councilmen
for a term of office of four years and such additional number of Councilmen
as may be required to fill vacancies pursuant to the provisions of
§ C-5.6 of this Charter. All of such terms of office shall
commence at 7:30 p.m. on the Monday next following the regular City
election at which they are elected.
C.
Vacancies in the office of Mayor, Clerk, Treasurer and Council shall
be filled in accordance with § C-5.6 of this Charter.
Terms of office of the Mayor shall be limited to four consecutive
two-year terms, not to exceed eight years elected. Terms of Councilmen
shall be limited to two consecutive four-year terms, not to exceed
eight years elected.
Special City elections shall be held when called by resolution
of the Council at least 60 days in advance of such election or when
required by this Charter or by statute. Should qualified electors
file a petition in conformance with the applicable statutory provisions
governing same, a special election shall set forth the purpose of
such election. No more special elections shall be called in any one
year than permitted by statute.
The Election Commission is hereby created consisting of the
Clerk, the Attorney and a person appointed by the Council who shall
not be a Councilman whose tenure of office is expiring at the next
biennial election. The members shall serve without compensation. The
Clerk shall be the Chairman. The Commission shall appoint the Board
of Election inspectors for each precinct and have charge of all activities
and duties required of it by state law and this Charter relating to
the conduct of elections in the City. The compensation of election
personnel shall be determined in advance by the Council. In any case
where election procedure is in doubt, the Election Commission shall
prescribe the procedure to be followed.
A.
Nonpartisan primary elections shall be held on the first Tuesday
following the first Monday in August, in accordance with state procedure,
or on the third Monday preceding a special election and to coincide
with the state primary election.
B.
If, upon the expiration of the time for filing nomination petitions
for any elective City office, valid petitions have been filed for
no more than twice the number of candidates for the respective offices
to be elected at the following regular or special City elections,
then no primary shall be held with respect to such offices. If no
primary is to be held for one or more offices, the Clerk shall publish
notice of the fact and the reason therefor as part of, or at the time
provided for, the publication of notices for such primary election.
C.
Candidates, equal in number to twice the number of persons to be
elected to each City office at the next subsequent regular or special
City election, who receive the highest number of votes at any such
primary election shall be declared the nominees for election to the
respective offices for which they are candidates. The candidates for
any office for which no primary election was held shall be certified
by the Clerk to the Election Commission as nominees for the next subsequent
regular or special City election.
A.
The method of nomination of all candidates for the City primary election
shall be by petition. Such petitions for each candidate shall be signed
by not less than 20 or more than 35 registered electors of the City.
No person shall sign his/her name to a greater number of petitions
for any office than there are persons to be elected to said office
at the following regular or special City election. If a qualified
and registered voter signs nominating petitions for a greater number
of candidates for public office than the number of persons to be elected
thereto, his/her signature, if they bear the same date, shall not
be counted upon any petition, and if they bear different dates, shall
be counted in the order of their priority of date for only so many
candidates as there are persons to be elected.
B.
Nominating petitions shall be filed with the Clerk between the ninth
Tuesday preceding such primary election and 4:00 p.m. Eastern standard
time on the seventh Tuesday preceding the regular City primary election
or any special primary election for the filling of vacancies in office.
C.
The Clerk shall, prior to every City primary election, publish notice
of the last day permitted for filing nomination petitions and of the
number of persons to be nominated or elected to each office at least
one week, and not more than three weeks, before such day.
The form of petition shall be substantially as that designated
by the Secretary of State for the nomination of nonpartisan judicial
officers. A supply of official petition forms shall be provided and
maintained by the Clerk.
A.
The Clerk shall accept nomination petitions which comply with the
form provided and maintained by him/her and which, considered together,
contain the required number of valid signatures for candidates having
those qualifications required for the filing of a petition. When a
petition is filed by persons other than the person whose name appears
thereon as a candidate, it may be accepted only when accompanied by
the written consent of the candidate. The Clerk shall, forthwith,
after the filing of petition, notify, in writing, any candidate whose
petition is then known not to meet the requirements of this section,
but failure to so notify any candidate shall in no way prevent a final
determination that the petition does not meet such requirements.
B.
Within three days after the last filing date for filing petitions,
the Clerk shall make the final determination as to the validity and
sufficiency of each nominating petition and whether or not the candidate
has the qualifications required for the respective elective City office
by this Charter and shall write the determination thereof on the face
of the petition. The Clerk shall immediately notify, in writing, the
candidates whose petition is found to be valid, invalid or insufficient.
Such notice to any candidate whose petition is found invalid or insufficient
shall be delivered by personal messenger, if possible, and otherwise
by registered mail. Any candidate whose petition is found invalid
or insufficient shall be allowed to file supplementary or replacement
petitions before five o'clock in the afternoon on the fifth day
after the last date for filing original petitions.
C.
The names of the candidates for the respective elective City offices
who file valid and sufficient nomination petitions shall be certified
by the Clerk to the Election Commission to be placed upon the ballot
for the next subsequent City primary election or the next special
City election for the filling of vacancies in office as the case may
be.
All nomination petitions shall be open to public inspection
in the office of the Clerk.
A.
The form, printing and numbering of ballots or the preparation of
the voting machines used in any City election shall conform as nearly
as may be to the provisions of statute, except that no party designation
or emblem shall appear. In all City elections, the names of qualified
candidates or nominees for each office shall be listed under a separate
heading and shall be rotated systematically in the manner prescribed
by statute for rotation of names.
B.
If two or more candidates for the same office have the same or similar
surnames, the Election Commission shall print the occupation or residence
address under the respective names of each of such candidates on the
ballots (or on the labels or slips to be placed on voting machines
when used), provided that for any of such candidates who is an incumbent
of such office, the occupation shall be designated as "Incumbent."
Except as provided in this section, there shall be no supplementary
identification of candidates on the ballot.
A four-member Board of Canvassers is hereby established in accordance
with election statutes, members of said Board to be qualified and
registered electors of the City and shall have filed with the City
a formal application for appointment to said Board.
If, at any City election, there shall be no choice between candidates
by reason of two or more persons receiving an equal number of votes,
then the Clerk shall name a date for the appearance of such persons
for the purpose of determining the election of such candidates by
lot as provided by statute. Selection of the members shall be made
by the City Council in the manner provided by statute.
A recount of the votes cast at any City election for any office
or upon any proposition may be had in accordance with election statutes.
Unless otherwise required by statute, a recount petition shall be
filed with the Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on the second full day after the
Board of Canvassers has made its official report; any counter-petition
shall be filed by 5:00 p.m. on the next full day thereafter.
Any elected official may be recalled from office by the electors
of the City in the manner provided by statute. A vacancy created by
such recall shall be filled in the manner prescribed by this Charter
and by statute.
